Anti-cruelty campaign shows animals get no pleasure from suffering

There are alarming number of animal cruelty cases reported every day — most still are never reported. Cruelty and neglect against animals cross all social and economic boundaries and reports suggest that animal abuse is common in both rural and urban areas.

So how do you push people to action when it comes to anti-cruelty? You create controversy.

This creative yet striking marketing campaign by Swiss organization Tier im Recht (The Foundation for the Animal in the Law) is meant to immediately grab attention, provoke thoughts and actions.

Tier im Recht has been advocating for a strong legal protection of animals since 1996. The main purpose of the foundation’s actions is the continuous improvement of the human-animal relationship in a legal, ethical and social sense, by fighting for animal laws and its consequent execution.

It seems that the best way to do this is by being loud, straightforward and shocking. This is especially true when trying to raise awareness about important and sensitive subjects, and to inspire a change which we still seem unable to make.

‘3D Animals’ anti-cruelty campaign

Tier im Recht’s previous campaign featured 3 different animals tied up like garbage bags. Those advertisements looked more unassuming. But upon closer inspection, the realization would draw in viewers.

Their current awareness raising campaign is more powerful and pretty intimidating. Initiated over a month ago, it features 4 eye-catching images of animals in BDSM clothes and a visible slogan that reads: “No animal takes pleasure in suffering”.

Inspired by the animal rights violation in Switzerland, these clever ads reminds us all that animals, unlike people, can’t give consent to violent acts and most definitely don’t have a ‘safe word’. And to this day, animals in Switzerland do not receive the legal protection they deserve.

The unconventional concept of the campaign was created by Ruf Lanz advertising agency which has been supporting Tier im Recht pro bono for many years. Needless to say, the animals in the photographs are computer-generated. 3D animals were modelled by internationally-known image concept house based in Bucharest, Carioca Studio.

Sometimes in social advertising, any means justify the ends. What are your thoughts on this anti-cruelty campaign?

These lifelike wooden animals are sculpted with a chainsaw

Daniel Swanick has been working as both a freelance and in-house Art Director / Senior Graphic Designer in the Greater Toronto Area for over ten years. He looks at every project from both a creative and strategic point-of-view to deliver engaging, conceptually driven ideas.